5 Meal Time Tips for Toddlers

5 ways to make meal time a success with little kids

Are your kids making meal times a nightmare? Are you fighting them to eat their vegetables? Is the whole plate from your toddler going in the bin? Or on the floor? As a twin mum I know how toddlers can be- especially at meal times.

I must say that apart from the odd dinner- our dinners together are pretty enjoyable and the twins have started the habit of telling their dad what we have done during the day. I love hearing what they remember from the day! They are also pretty good eaters so I might be double lucky but I also think following the 5 points below has helped us in creating a nice dinner time. And do they eat their vegetables and finish their plates every night? Nope! But pretty often and I am happy with that.

I have written this blog post to hopefully help a little to turn crazy meal times into happier peaceful family moments.

Eat as a family around the table

When we lived in Perth the twins used to have dinner on their own at 5h30 and be in bed at 7h30 the time their dad and I would sit and have our dinner together. It was good in some ways for some nice adult time but it wasn’t teaching the twins how to eat, communicate and share a meal. They use to throw all their food on the floor and drive me crazy!

Since we moved to Orange and my husband’s work hours have changed (he finishes work around 5h30/ 6h these days instead of 6h30/7h) and the twins being able to wait for a later dinner and bed time, we usually have dinner at 6h30 and they go to bed at 8 o’clock. Sharing dinner as a family has helped the twins to try new and different foods and accept the same dinner as us. It has improved our family connections and communication and it is good to be 2 adults against 2 kids to help with flying forks and pasta when they go about crazy!

Limit snacking

I know this tip worked particularly well for my son James. He likes to eat a lot but only a little at a time and he prefers snacks over meal times. I used to just give in and offer him foods whenever he wanted but when he turned 2 I started giving a proper more filling snack 2-hours before meal times instead of lots of small ones. He gets nice and full from his snack and gets hungry again for dinner!

Grazing all day is not beneficial for little tummies as they fill up on lots of small snacks and are not hungry anymore for the more nutrition-dense meals.

Lead by example

This is simple. If your child never sees you eat vegetables they are very unlikely to do so themselves. So make sure to always serve yourself a nice serve of vegetables and fruit and don’t be scared to tell them how delicious it is and how much you love them. This is proven to help little children in trying out new foods and vegetables.

Serve vegetables first

If your children are really not good vegetables eaters I would recommend serving them to begin the meal as opposed to serving them as a side. You can serve some “crudites” like raw salads, carrots and hummus or roasted vegetables. (It is also important to vary the ways you cook and serve vegetables and fruits and try different cooking methods and recipes). A hungry child is more likely to eat them and start appreciating them. I know even for myself this works well!

If your child is a little older they could also help you in prepping, cutting and cooking them.

Don’t push and keep serving the difficult foods.

Eloise loves cauliflower and broccoli. But only on certain days! It drives me crazy but some days she can eat a whole broccoli and others she will pick it out and says she doesn’t like it. Because I never know what day it is going to be I keep serving it but I don’t force her to eat. I never ask them to finish their plates –only taste and eat until full. I remember long horrible meals as a child being forced to finish my plate. It is not the recommended method anymore to force children in finishing their plates or tasting foods. These days it is recommended to for the parent to decide when food is offered and what type of food is offered and the child can decide if they are going to eat and how much they are going to eat.

Bribing and getting angry won’t lead to your child getting over their fear of vegetables. Positive reinforcement along with leading by example and lots of availability of consuming vegetables are the best ways to create healthy and happy relationships with food and vegetables in children.

Children are usually scared of new foods and may need to see a food 10 times or more before they decide to try it. I always serve the vegetables (and other foods) we are having on their plates even if I know it will might not be touched. After repeat exposure, seeing you eat it and positive verbal reinforcement to try or taste the food they are more likely to try it. It might take a while but you will get there!

I also found cute new plates, cutlery, asking them to plate up along with being more relaxed with the mess they make good ways to create happier meal times for everyone.

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About Me

Claire Power is a nutritionist, mum of 3 and the food blogger/stylist and photographer behind Healthyfrenchwife. Claire creates and shares colourful healthy vegan recipes through her blog and social media to a following of over 99,000 people. She has been making healthy vegan recipes for over 5 years and has developed and photographed recipes for many businesses including Woolworths, San Remo, Thermomix, The Chia Co, Cocobella and many more. Claire has had many of her vegan recipes appear in health and wellness magazines in Australia and overseas.